An experiment conducted at a British college has revealed mobile phones to host colonies of bacteria.Students at the University of Surrey dipped their phones into Petri dishes, the Metro reports, and the touch screens appear to be entirely covered in germs.

This suggests that just like food and computer keyboards, bacteria can additionally be stored on the surface of a mobile phone and therefore be transmitted by contact.

Note how each image shows a big blob of bacteria where the home button is usually located, showing the germs that are stored on the thumb.